I called to Garmin Finland today. I talked to the boss and told about freezing issue. This is what he said:

Garmin knows the issue and tries to solve it as soon as possible. New software update will follow in a month or so. PROBLEM is most likely with the FUEL CONSUMPTION CALCULATION. Try to turn off fuel gauge from the GPS as a first aid!!! or use the CAR MODE (car mode doesn't calculate fuel consumption)!!!!!!!

I just got off the phone 15min ago so I haven't tried it myself. Please comment here if it works that way!

Based on Jantan's post, it seems Garmin knows about the fuel consumption most likely creating the problem. But they apparently failed top solve that one part of the problem. Therefore I would suggest all Garmin has to do now is to disable that function by eliminating it from the menu, and stop advertising it as a feature.

Anyway, we all know our motorcycles, when they run out of fuel, and most of them have fuel gauges anyway, and more, they give you your instant and your average consumption, and miles to go. Plus there is that annoying dreadful amber light.

Based on Jantan's post, it seems Garmin knows about the fuel consumption most likely creating the problem. But they apparently failed top solve that one part of the problem. Therefore I would suggest all Garmin has to do now is to disable that function by eliminating it from the menu, and stop advertising it as a feature.

Anyway, we all know our motorcycles, when they run out of fuel, and most of them have fuel gauges anyway, and more, they give you your instant and your average consumption, and miles to go. Plus there is that annoying dreadful amber light.

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Plus, don't most of us use a trip odometer to track how many miles are on the tank? I have, for 36 years of riding. So, I never even tried the thing on the Zumo.

I took the "fuel consumption being turned off" option as enough of a good omen and ordered the 350, it arrived today. I assume Garmin will eventually get to an update that fixes it and I don't need the feature anyway.

I leave for a 7000km trip on Wednesday and will advise if it turns in to a paper weight mid journey or if I actually get to where I'm going.

All good thoughts there. I'd prefer that Garmin got all the features they've advertised working properly. Short of that bit of vapor, it'll likely be fixed just in time to antiquate the 350 in favor of it's successor and it's bugs.

Won't be back on the bike for a few more days, but cursory use in my truck in MC mode with fuel feature disabled hasn't produced a single freeze. Looks like we're going to get a complete unit after a circuitous journey... One that even their own GPS couldn't track.

500mi today without a freeze with the 2.60 update. MC mode, no fueling calc, one destination with auto-reroute. In addition to no freezing it was very nice to have normalized auto-zoom working again. It was very annoying having a far out view when a tighter visual reference was required.

I'll consider Garmin's work complete when I'm able to use the fuel feature. Never had a problem with that on a much older Zumo 450, but I digress.

Funny that Garmin released an update to fix a problem they never had. If I could spank them in any way, it would be to say that customers (aka people), respond much better to the truth rather than evasion of it.

Sincere thanks to each of you for sharing your experiences and suggestions.

Good question. I do like the feature thanks. Grew to count on it on several other dual purpose bikes that had no fuel gauges and it was a life saver. Using it is a fully engrained habit. Now, although redundant on my current steed it offers backup and peace of mind as I mostly ride alone, distant, and remote. It also offers greater accuracy IMO, as not only are odo's largely inaccurate by considerable margin, but that margin tends to increase with tire wear.

The figure to input into the GPS (absolute mileage) is arrived at after the break-in period on a new bike when consumption is more stable, then refined via purposefully running out of fuel several times (I carry spare). That process gives me a better "feel" for the bike's gauge and reserve while still maintaining that important (to me) backup. I've beat the daylights out of my skin suit over the the years and getting stuck in nowhere is not the fun it once was.

Good for you that you don't use the feature or have experienced any problems.

Thanks for the explanation. I suppose that if I had bikes with no trip odometers, I might have given the feature a try. As it is, I view it as redundant for me. Hope they fix it so you can use it again.

Missed a good opportunity to try it as I was several hundred miles away with no cable. This week should be a good test. Just did the update and put my settings where I prefer them rather than where they had to be. Will post results.

A bit off topic here, but looking through the features today I saw that when using the unit converter app/Currency, that the last update is dated 9/8/2011.
If someone is aware of a way to update this feature aside from the typical update conventions that have obviously failed, it'd be good to hear from you.
Thanks